Mosquito Lake State Park

On the ground

The park sits in Bazetta and Mecca townships in the center of Trumbull County. The Connecticut Land Company offered the 17,247-acre Bazetta Township tract for sale in 1795, dividing it into 100 parcels for early pioneers, and the first settlers arrived in 1805, clearing land and building log houses in what was then wilderness shared with deer, turkey, bears, and wolves. Samuel Bacon moved to Bazetta Township in 1816 and his family operated a sawmill there until 1850, part of the early development of the community that grew up around the lake's future site. Historic features noted in the park today include the Dam/Spillway and the USACE Dam Tower, reminders that the lake itself is an engineered reservoir rather than a natural one.

Woodlands around the park are beech-maple forest that has regrown since Ohio's original forest cover, and in spring the understory supports spring beauties, anemones, Dutchman's breeches, and purple cresses. The Cherokee Trail runs 3.31 miles, the longest named route mapped near the park, and the Mane Trail and Turkey Run Trail also thread the park's woods and shoreline. Boating is allowed with unlimited horsepower on portions of the 7,850-acre lake, though skiing, tubing, and personal watercraft are prohibited north of the State Route 88 causeway. Five launch ramps give access to the water, including the Main Launch Ramp reached from the State Route 305 entrance. Anglers fish year-round for walleye, bass, crappie, and northern pike. A 600-foot beach serves swimmers, with a separate swim area set aside for dogs, and the nearby Cooperation Station Dog Park is a 5-acre off-leash area with a split wood and mesh fence and separate sections for small and large dogs. Families with children can walk the park's Storybook Trail, a half-mile route that presents a children's story in segments along the way, and the Squirrel Run Disc Golf Course offers 18 holes, open every day year-round with no fee to play.